The Tokyo target is gold although Allman also has post-meet plans. “To be able to end the season representing your country is special,“ she says, “but I’m also excited to lean into the sushi!” (GLADYS CHAI von der LAAGE)
DURING THE ’21 OLYMPIC GAMES in Tokyo, athletes held tight to their phones, praying they would not ring. “Every day,” shot great Ryan Crouser recalled later, “you had to take a Covid test. They only notified you if it was positive, so whenever you got a call you didn’t want to look at your phone because it might have been the end of your Olympics.” Even for the famously unflappable Crouser, the sense of uncertainty, “compounding day after day” was almost too much to bear.
Fortunately, the dreaded call never came, and the ‘21 Games will be remembered by his fans as the one where Crouser took another step towards establishing himself as the greatest putter of all time by winning the second of his (so far) three Olympic golds.
Those Games might also be remembered as the beginning of Valarie Allman’s journey to the top of the sport. It was there that she won her first international championships medal, shrugging off her rookie jitters and the weirdness of the pandemic to blast a 226-3 (68.98) opener that held up for the win.
It was the beginning of a reign of terror which continues to this day. Allman has now won 7 consecutive U.S. championships and 5 consecutive Diamond League titles. She has surpassed 229-6 (70.00) in 13 different competitions, taken medals at the ‘22 and ‘23 Worlds, and become the first American woman to repeat as Olympic discus champ. She has not lost a competition in the past 2 years.
Believe it or not, though, that kind of success and the pressure to maintain it can be harder to manage than the pressure of trying to make your first breakthrough in the middle of a pandemic.
Vésteinn Hafsteinsson, who coached Gerd Kanter and Daniel Ståhl to Olympic and World titles, understands the challenge of entering major championships as the favorite. “The biggest pressure an athlete faces,” he said recently, “is when they are absolutely expected to take a gold medal. When you hear from everyone that you are supposed to win, then anything but a win becomes a loss, and that is tough on anyone, I don’t care who you are. It is much easier to come from down under and surprise everyone.”
Mitch Crouser, Ryan’s father and coach, says that the press plays a role in making life complicated for medal favorites. Ryan did not get much media attention going into his first Olympics in Rio, as he was “just a college kid who was lucky to be there,” but he was inundated with appearance and interview requests four years later when he arrived in Tokyo as the defending champion and WR holder.
Mitch says that, “ESPN, NBC, the IOC, Nike, and maybe 10 or even 20 other outlets might all call on the same day looking to do something with Ryan. It wasn’t physically possible to accommodate all of them, but then they’d get upset because each thought they were the only one asking for his time.”
The clamor surrounding Allman could be especially loud in Tokyo due to her current run of excellence and the fact that she has yet to win WC gold, which gives her story an interesting angle.
Possibly the toughest moment of her career came 2 years ago during the final in Budapest where Allman launched what was at the time her best throw ever at an international championships, 227-1 (69.23). As fate would have it, she finished 2nd on the day to teammate Lagi Tausaga, who delivered a fifth-round 227-11 (69.49) shocker to take the win.
Allman acknowledges that the defeat in Budapest left her feeling a “heavy sense of loss,” and it would be understandable if she were to step into the ring in Tokyo burning for revenge. But Hafsteinsson says the key for the U.S. platter star will be to focus on herself during the competition. “If you start thinking about distance or your competitors or that you must win,” he warns, “you will screw up.”
Fortunately, the loss in Budapest taught Allman a lesson that partly explains her remarkable winning streak (the ‘23 Worlds was her last defeat) and might make her tougher than ever in her return to Tokyo.
In fact, she says that she is now “grateful” for what happened in Budapest and the role it has played in her life.
“It was important to learn there is always going to be a tomorrow,” she explained. “I’m able to find joy in these great battles with my competitors now instead of feeling so much pressure about the outcome.”
Her coach, Zeb Sion, agrees.
“One of the biggest things she’s figured out these last 2 years,” he says, “is how to manage pressure. Part of that has been evolving towards a more joyous expression of the energy she feels. She still has her edge. That will always be there. But now she’s more able to lean into the crowd and the competition and embrace the moment.”
That joyfulness was on full display at the Diamond League Final in Zürich where, with the help of the raucous fans along the south curve near the discus cage, she shook off a sluggish start and blasted a 226-11 (69.18) winner in round 4. Her ability to reach that distance in damp air with the flags on top of the stadium hanging limply was impressive, but more ominous in the eyes of her competitors might be her ability to stay relaxed and have a great time in the process.
Afterwards, Allman acknowledged the role the crowd played in her performance (“It was loud out there!”) and spoke with anticipation about visiting Japan again.
“I’ve been wanting to get back since 2021,” she said. “We plan to take a holiday for an extra week after the competition, and I cannot wait to try all the different foods. To be able to end the season representing your country is special, but I’m also excited to lean into the sushi!”
For his part, Hafsteinsson believes Allman is ready to strike gold in Tokyo.
“I know how they work,” he explained, referring to Allman and Sion. “And I don’t think there is anyone more professional in the discus. Val is a very smart athlete who takes care of every detail in her training and her life, and Zeb is a very good coach for her. They will be ready.”
Dan McQuaid is a retired English teacher who writes about the throwing events for mcthrows.com. He is a frequent contributor to the Throw Big Throw Far podcast, and has co-authored two books with Vésteinn Hafsteinsson. He also loves his wife. A lot.
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